Richard Whalen

In the best tradition of intellectual activism, Andrew J. Bacevich teaches at Boston University and speaks the truth to errant Washington power in books such as his upcoming American Empire, Seduced by War, The Limits of American Power, essays, speeches and directly in Congressional testimony.

On April 9th, Bacevich testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee and the ranking member, Senator John McCain, was openly sarcastic to the traditional conservative who opposes the Bush-McCain war in Iraq. Bacevich, a decorated Vietnam veteran like McCain, believes Iraq is a national tragedy. He hit the hectoring McCain between the eyes with this sentence: “The United States today finds itself with too much war and too few warriors. We face a large and growing gap between our military commitments and our military capabilities. Something has to give.”

Bacevich noted the success of “the surge” in Iraq and asked why not sustain it? Why not send another 30 or 60 or 90 thousand troops as reinforcements? Answering his own question, Bacevich said: “Because the necessary troops don’t exist. The cupboard is bare.”

Politicians like McCain know they need a draft to create an adequate army for their geopolitical fantasies, but they do not dare propose it.

Bacevich reminded the senators that “the purpose of the surge was not to win the war in a military sense…. The object was to facilitate political reconciliation among Iraqis… (but) signs of genuine reconciliation are few…. The Iraq war has revealed the limits of American power and called into question American competence….

“Continuing on our present course in which soldiers head back to Iraq for their third and fourth combat tours while the rest of the country heads for the mall will break the Army before it produces policy success,” said Bacevich. “Worse, our present course – in which a few give their all while most give nothing – is morally indefensible.”

Bacevich, a gold-star father whose son and namesake, a Marine Captain, was killed in Iraq last spring, challenged the senators. Using a nasty tone, McCain faced the real maverick in the witness chair and tried to question Bacevich’s patriotism and “loyalty” to conservative principles. McCain’s clumsy attack failed. The anti-war traditionalist stood his ground and silenced the war-loving neocon. An awkward silence fell over the hearing room. “I was surprised,” Andy Bacevich said to me afterward, “how little strategic perspective and awareness these Senators have. They are all completely absorbed in today, now, – and not interested in the next generation.

The next generation will turn to honest historians like Bacevich to understand why we invaded Iraq. That said, our opposition to this stupid, unnecessary and ruinously expensive war cannot wait for history’s verdict. Conservatives of every persuasion should stand up now and follow the late Bill Buckley’s example by declaring the Iraq misadventure Bush’s tragic folly.

As a lifelong Robert A. Taft Republican, I say: respect America’s honor and serve our clear national interests by negotiating our withdrawal from Iraq with the neighboring states, especially Iran.